Rush to Reality
by Sir Fuzzalot
Summary: Post Hogwarts. AU. James Potter is one hot guy, at least he feels so. He’s liked the smart and pretty Lily Evans for years, but for Lily, it’s the exact reverse. Then, James oddly vanishes one day, and Lily sent by the ministry goes looking for him.


Oh my goodness, took me soo long to write this first chapter. I've been planning this chapter forever, been writing it forever. Whilst trying to write my other stories, too...

Well, here it is. I never dreamed I would finish it today, though... I fully expected to do it this summer. Oh well!! I hate keeping people waiting... and I tend to do that a lot.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, JKR took the liberty of doing that. I don't own any of the characters, except some of the girls, and I own this story line.

So, read and enjoy! Don't expect an update soon! Sorry! Please review!

Sir Fuzzalot !

* * *

Rush to Reality

Chapter One – The Days Gone Awry

I've always wondered who _exactly _Lily Evans is. I've never heard her family's name before, never seen her on the streets of crowded London, never smelt her soft scent traveling in the oncoming wind.

And that was saying something.

I'm James Henry Potter, the only son of Michael and Fiona Potter. Except, I don't say that easily anymore, for both of my parents were killed a year ago (my seventh year at Hogwarts) by Voldemort, leaving me under the care of my older sister, Ellyn. Unfortunately, just two weeks ago, she was killed, as well. I was in shock when I came home to find the Dark Mark, hovering menacingly in the air. So now I was alone, an orphan with the immense Potter fortune passed down all the way from the Dark Ages. Nearly every Wizarding family in the world knew about me, and I knew about them.

Except for Lily Evans's family.

I remember that when we both first came to Hogwarts (being in the same year), she had never heard of how well-known my family was, the vast Potter fortune, or even _me_, little old James Potter. She just thought that I was some pompous eleven-year-old boy trying to get her attention. She told me later on that she was surprised that I didn't make Slytherin.

So, in return, I told her that this would be a beautiful friendship. She ignored me, and walked off to her dormitory.

The next morning, I apologized profusely for my lack of politeness to her, and vowed to be her friend. She shrugged, so I said, "So… Lily _Evans_. I've never heard of you before. And you've never heard of me. Weren't your parents in Gryffindor? It runs in the family; both of my parents were in it."

And then, I first discovered what a muggleborn was.

Before I could say anything more, she ran off to breakfast with some girls she met in her dorm. I turned around and went up my dormitory stair to find my longtime friend Sirius Black lounging on his bed, casually eating a Chocolate Frog.

"Sirius, mate, you'll ruin your appetite. Wait—since when do _I _care about your appetite? Just… just ignore me, I'm being stupid today."

Sirius put the frog back in its box, and approached me, looking me over. "You look like something's troubling you, James. Did you meet a _girl_?" he asked, trying to hide a smirk.

I sighed. "Yeah, but…"

"But what? Are you in _love_, James? Who is she? Hm? Tell!" he exclaimed, practically hopping up and down. I'll never forget that day… but for heaven's sake we were _eleven._

"She told me something that I'd never heard of before… how is it possible that you can have _Muggle _parents, but still be a witch? She said that she was…"

"…muggleborn, right?" finished Sirius. "It's amazing that your family practically knows every family in the Wizarding world, but you've never heard of a _muggleborn_. Odd, right? But, hey, let's go down to breakfast before Peter and Remus finish it all off."

I nodded with a smile when he mentioned our other dorm mates, Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin. Peter was a short kid with mousy hair. He was always curious of everything, especially food. That would be why he was a tad bit on the pudgy side… but Remus was the exact opposite. I swear, he was _skin and bones_. Throughout the years, I must have forced him to take third helpings of every meal.

As Sirius and I sat down at the Gryffindor table beside Remus and Peter, I looked over to my left, and saw that Lily Evans was sitting next to me, talking happily with some other first year girls.

"Hi, Lily," I said calmly. She turned her head in surprise, but immediately turned away when she saw who it was addressing her.

"Aww, Lily, why so disgusted? It's only James Potter. He can't have done anything to you. The Potter family is so polite!" exclaimed a girl sitting across from Lily.

"Yeah, Lily, you're friend's right. I haven't done anything to you," I said with a smile, patting her back.

Lily tensed up at my touch and backed away. By now, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were listening into the conversation as well. "Just stay _away_ from me, Potter," she said harshly.

With her last word, I looked at her strangely. "No one's ever called me _Potter_ before, Lily. Maybe you should say it more often. Then people won't have to ask me if I'm James Potter, and not some James Whatever. They'll just _know_ that I'm James Potter because you're calling me Potter now. Thanks."

She gave me a dirty look. "You think that you're all that, Potter. You're really just a pompous insensitive jerk, trying to make good first impressions. Just keep out of my way, and leave me _alone_."

I shrugged, and turned back to Sirius, who was silently laughing in his eggs. "At least now I won't be liable for cooties…" I said to him.

The very next second, I was being whapped on the back of the head. By now, Peter had milk coming out of his nose, and an overturned goblet spilling its contents onto his lap. Remus was shaking his head while trying to avoid giggling. Sirius patted me on the back and said, "Well done, mate. You've just earned yourself a new enemy. Good luck."

"Oh, shut up Sirius," I replied, giving him a cheesy look. I turned back to Lily and said all Medieval-ishly, "Until we meet again, fair lady. Which, according to your schedule placed so openly next to your goblet, would be the next hour. See you then, my bonny lass!"

Then, I stood up, and left the Great Hall. I went eagerly back up to my dormitory, quickly getting my schoolbag together for my first class with Lily Evans.

* * *

The first period of that day was Charms, a class that you could basically get away with doing _anything _as long as Flitwick didn't see you doing it. I didn't know that at the time, but I would soon find out.

The four of us guys were just about to sit down in the very back of the Charms classroom when Lily Evans and her friends walked in. I gave Lily one of my charming smiles, but she gave me a look that said 'don't-you-dare-give-me-that-kind-of-smile-James-Potter-I-will-just-ignore-you-so-bug-off'. I raised my eyebrows, folded my arms, and turned back to the boys.

Peter started to sit down in a chair, but before his fat behind even touched the cold wood of it, a small lightning bolt zapped him, and he jerked away from it. Lily and friends were laughing, and I laughed too. That was like me; I basically laughed at nearly everything, as long as it didn't happen to me. Well, small things didn't count, like slipping in the mud. I would laugh, and get up with the help of one of the other guys.

Back on subject—As soon as the electric current from the chair was emitted into Peter's gluteus maximus, Professor Flitwick came scurrying over and said, "That's not your seat, Mr. Pettigrew! Sit in it again, and you'll get another shocker! Now, go and check the board in the front; there's a seating chart on it."

Peter nodded silently with a look of pure fright upon his face, and wobbled over to the front of the room to see where his actual seat was. We followed after him (A/N: not wobbling!), snickering on every step.

Remus was first to find where he sat. "Seems that I'm in the front row… darn it. Oh, and I'm next to Katherine…" he said, referring to the short brunette on Lily's left.

Katherine let out a groan. "I have to sit next to one of the _boys_? Now I'll_ never _get my work done in class…"

"What too preoccupied with staring at Remus's handsome face? Gosh, Kat, resist!" I said.

Lily hit me on the back of the head like she did this morning, and said, "Just shut your mouth, Potter."

I ignored her. Sirius went back to Katherine's comment, and said, "Out of all four of us to sit by, Kat, you got lucky. Remus is well-mannered and won't dare distract you or even talk to you for that matter… that is, if you don't want him to."

At this point, Flitwick strode up to us again, saying, "Students, class is about to start. I suggest you find your seats quickly so you won't be counted absent when I find that your seat is empty!"

Kat and Remus strode away to go and sit down, while the rest of us looked for where we would be sitting.

"Hey, James, you're gonna be next to Lily!" said Sirius, clapping a hand on my back.

"Gosh darn it…" I heard a voice mutter behind me. Undoubtedly, it was Lily's.

Not wasting any time, the two of us went to sit down in the middle of the classroom where our desks were located. Sirius was on my right two seats, Peter was in the front of the room (carefully sitting down, afraid that lightning would strike him again, even though it was his seat), and Lily's other two friends, Celeste and Gwendolyn (Gwen in short), were both in the back, out of Flitwick's earshot. They could probably get away with doing_ anything _back there! Lucky.

Professor Flitwick called roll, and (not surprisingly, of course) everyone was present. He gave us a brief overview of what we would be doing over the course of the year, and then began the lesson. He began partnering us up immediately for today's charm: '_Wingardium Leviosa_'. I was dying to be partnered with Sirius, but he was not seated next to me. Since the scrawny Hufflepuff boy on my right was already partnered with him, I knew that I would have to be with Lily.

And so it was. "Don't you dare talk to me, Potter. You'll ruin my concentration _and _give us extra homework," she said through gritted teeth, attempting to levitate the feather set before us.

"What, you're saying that I can't perform spells correctly, Lily? I'll have you know that I am highly accomplished in… erm…"

She laughed. "In what, Potter? You can't have done magic already and be _accomplished _at it. You'd need lots of time and practice."

"Oh, and you have? Tell me, what are _you _so accomplished in?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Before she could answer, though, Flitwick walked over to our seats and said, "No time for chit-chat, students! If you can't do the spell by the end of the class, it'll be homework!!" And then, noticing that neither of us had even raised a wand yet, he continued, saying, "Potter! Evans! Could you levitate the feather for me, please?"

Lily blushed and nodded. Just as she was raising her wand, though, I stuck my hand out in front of her and said, "_I'll_ do this one, Lily. Just sit back, it's not like I'm going to blow the feather up or anything."

Lily gave me 'the look' again, but I ignored her and said, "_Winglardium Lefiosa!!"_

Just as I finished the spoken part and some kind of swishy motion with my wand, the feather shot up in the air and exploded, showering Professor Flitwick, Lily, and I with purple ashes.

Professor Flitwick yelped, Lily screamed, and the whole class burst out laughing. I silently blushed and laughed with them.

"POTTER!! YOU CAN'T EVEN GET THE DARNED _SPELL_ RIGHT!!" Lily exclaimed. She began to try and get at me, but Flitwick squealed for her to stop. Knowing not to disobey a teacher, she persisted from ripping my hair out.

"Potter, Evans, for homework you will practice that spell and try _not_ to make the feather explode. Oh, dear me, are these ashes purple?" he added looking at his beard covered in violet specks.

"Y-yes, sir," said Lily, stuttering from anger (towards me, of course…).

"Goodness, we're going to have a hard time getting these out Mr. Potter, Ms. Evans… now clean up this mess, and class dismissed."

Quickly, all the students except Sirius, Remus, Peter, Kat, Celeste, and Gwen left the room. Flitwick went into his office.

"That was _brilliant_, mate. Do that more often," said Sirius, patting me on the back.

"No he should _not_," commented a very irritated Lily. "He'll just mess everything up, including my grades."

"Don't you see, Lily? That's what I'm accomplished in. Messing things up," I said calmly.

"And making everything _incredibly _funny. That's something we'd all like to be able to do," said Remus.

"Just leave me alone, Potter."

"If you say so, Evans. Just know that I'll be here, every single day, haunting your classes and messing things up…" I said.

"So you're calling me _Evans,_ now? I guess it's fair, then. I call you Potter."

"Or I could call you _my bonny lass_, like I did earlier this morning at breakfast… Which do you prefer?"

"I'd prefer that you don't address me at all."

"Tough luck, my bonny lass. You're stuck with me…" I said, giving her a pat on the back. Our mess was cleaned up, and now both Lily and I had purple hair. She was stuck with me, all right…and I would make sure of it.

* * *

My entire first year went smoothly, minus Lily trying to stay as far away from me as possible. That was kind of hard, though, because now Kat, Gwen, and Celeste were big friends of all four of us guys. Lily hung around with us just because her best friends told her to, and was constantly mumbling.

The second year at Hogwarts for us was practically the same as the first, minus the shyness passed around, and the over enthusiasm we had when we learned new spells. Hey—we were first years, we were new to doing magic!!

Anyways, on my second year, hanging around with an annoyed Lily had its benefits. There were so many ways that the fours of us guys could prank her to make her even _more _enraged… the best one it think is when we had a bunch of sweets, and were passing them around amongst ourselves. The girls had no part in our pranks, but in this one they did (though they had no idea that they were). Since Lily wouldn't dare take anything given to her by us, I got Gwen to give her a nice and simple custard. We had filled it with sleeping powder, though…and got out the permanent markers once she was snoring on the couch. She wasn't too happy about it… she'd tried every spell in the book, but none would work. It took a whole four weeks for it to completely come out. But, still, she did look rather nice with a uni-brow and curly moustache.

In our third year, Lily was relieved to hear that I didn't take Arithmancy. Finally, her one class without me. Fortunately, she picked Care of Magical Creatures, like the rest of us. Even though I could _never _top her in any class, I was glad to be in her class (others would want to be in a different class period to be the top of the class)… I could have more time to tease her then.

I'd poke her upper arm and whisper, "Hey Evans," at that, she'd try and scoot away. Then, I'd continue, saying, "What's the answer to number five?"

"Bugger off, Potter," she'd mumble, scooting further away. It was funny to watch her move over so far that she'd bump into the person on her left. This was like our daily routine; test, whisper, scoot away, ask to cheat, "Bugger off, Potter,", scoot away, bump into neighbor.

There was also the case of Hogsmeade trips. The four of us guys (now called the 'Marauders' by everyone at school because we'd always be likened unto pirates; flirt with the ladies, try to cheat, hang around easily, plunder (pranks?), and be easygoing…) would always migrate from Zonko's, first, to Three Broomsticks, second, Honeydukes, third… basically after we hit Honeydukes, we did whatever. Get new parchment and quills, go looking for crazy clothing to give as birthday presents.

The rest of the rest was spent gaining our reputation as 'the slackers who still pass anyway', the 'ladies'-men' (except for Peter, poor guy), 'the pranksters of Hogwarts'…

And then there was Quidditch. Honest-to-goodness, the _best _sport alive. What could be better than flying broomsticks at dangerous speed, trying to score, avoiding being hit by flying spheres, or (my favorite) catching the breakneck-speeded Golden Snitch? Not to mention the high risk of serious injury… but that's not saying too much. The exhilaration!! It just gets to you, being up fifty feet in the air, eighty miles per hour, looking for a small golden ball to win the game… and the crowds. _Everyone _in the school attended, with some outside important folk who want to see a good game (like from Hogsmeade). They would almost be even more excited about the match than the players themselves. They, with their faces painted, banners waving, songs chanting…and that's not even covering it all.

I was a reserve my second year, only because the captain of the Gryffindor team was the Seeker, the position that I played. I was even _better_ at it than he was!! I have no idea why McGonagall picked him for the spot, anyway. One of the Beaters was a _way _better player than him. Oh well… someday I'll be captain. I'm sure of it. I'll have the best team, and we'll win the Quidditch Cup with a perfect season winning each match by at least a hundred points.

In my third year, I was the seeker. I caught the Snitch every single match, due to my first-class talent on the broom, also help by my top-of-the-line broomstick my parents bought me after becoming a reserve second year. This year, we won the Cup, 230-50 against Slytherin. There was a really nasty boy on their team, I remember. Severus Snape, his name was. He was the Keeper, but he stunk at it. Oh well. He quit the team the next year, which was probably why he never had muscles his teenager years. It was like he stopped exercising altogether. He probably only got the position as Keeper on the team because he told the other Slytherins that if they tried out for the position, he'd put a nasty curse on them. All of the Slytherins knew him well, and they knew not to mess with Snape and curses. The combination was dangerous. I tell you now; the kid was _born _to be in Slytherin.

After that day, he became my worst enemy. Sure, you could consider Lily an enemy, but that was more of in a… friendly way. I mean, I wouldn't dare put a curse on her or loathe her for all of eternity like I could possibly do to Snape. Someday, Lily would come around, I was sure of it. We'd be the best of friends, save the rest of the Marauders.

Our third year was classic: Hogsmeade, Quidditch, being officially popular, etc. Boy, Sirius and I had practically glued ourselves to Zonko's. Honestly, there was no better place… it was heaven. The girls didn't follow us in there, though. The just hung out elsewhere, like the local shops where they could check out girly-stuff like ink that smelled like roses and things like that. Peter always had his eyes set on Honeydukes, so whenever we were bored and got tired of each other's company for the time being, it was like setting loose a pig with too much pent-up energy when Peter went free. He'd come back to the Common Room, hours later, his arms and pockets overflowing with candy. It made the rest of us wonder how he could eat so much but only stay a _little _pudgy. Must be the metabolism of a young kid, most every young teenager has it.

Those nights, we'd have parties of some sort, and all the first and second years felt left out a bit, for they didn't go to Hogsmeade. They just hung around for the snacks and party games. The party games… Sirius and I were the life of those, even with the sixth and seventh years being so high-and-mighty. They thought that we were absolute riots… Remus and Peter weren't nearly as popular. Lily hated my popularity, and that that I was a stuck-up jerk. Kat, Gwen, and Celeste beamed whenever we waved at them, and we got even closer as the days went by.

Aside from Hogsmeade and partying, there were the new classes to cope with. I took Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes, being no fan of Arithmancy, Divination, or Muggle Studies (despite my lack of muggleborn knowledge). Sirius took whatever I did, so we had all of our classes together. Lucky for Lily, she took Arithmancy; thereby have one less class with me. We still had Care of Magical Creatures together, much to her dismay. So, she spent a whole half of the class trying to persuade Professor Kettleburn to give her a seat anywhere that wasn't next to me. As a result, the Professor was getting annoyed, and just seated her next to me. How lucky! I was whispering sweet nothings into her ear the whole class, with Sirius snickering in the desk right behind me.

By now, the whole of Hogwarts was at our feet, constantly talking about the _Marauders_… they were praising the many pranks we played on several students and most teachers (even Dumbledore!); laughing at the jokes we laid out in the corridors and at mealtimes; and simply _adoring _our ravishing good looks (okay, I confess, _that_ was a little bit embellished, but that's basically what they did…). I swear, by the end of our third year, Sirius and I had been asked out by at least sixty hopeful girls apiece. Even Remus got asked out a fair few times, even as shy as he is. We turned them all down, though. It was a bit sad that many of them were first years and easily burst out in tears, but the appearance of a notorious and flirtatious prank-master who is _single_ sounds a lot most mysterious and dark than a notorious and flirtatious prank-master that's dating. That way, being single, he can have more ladies at his feet. He can practically fly over to any girl he wants, sweep her off her feet, saying, "Let's do lunch, babe," and not have to worry about cheating on a girlfriend.

One day, Sirius, Peter and I were later for Transfiguration. We were rushing down the halls, and had just turned into the right corridor, only to be bumped down by some scrawny, pale figure whose greasy hair was flying all about. Sirius looked up.

"_Snape!!_" he seethed. "What d'you--…" Sirius would've continued, but he started laughing once he saw Severus's face more clearly. The Slytherin was in tears!! "Gosh, Snape, what happened to _you_? A thirteen year old boy—crying! And I thought that Peter here was a wimp!"

Peter let out a small "hey!" but it didn't really matter. He was too overcome with a fit of giggles, falling back to the floor.

Snape turned to me. "Now don't you go sniveling all over me," I said in between laughs. "Although I _would _like to know who made you cry. I want to personally thank them."

Snape's face contorted with rage, and he slapped me, causing me to stagger back. I turned back to him in surprise. I would have hit him back, but Sirius tugged at my arm.

"Go on to class, snivelly. Go back to your crybaby hole so we can be rid of your stench," he said, a cold look gleaming in his eye.

Suddenly, McGonagall opened the door, and frowned down upon us. "I knew I heard a commotion out here. You four are late, we've just begun." We three turned away from Snape and started to walk inside the Transfiguration room.

"You too, Mr. Snape. Honestly, you don't want to be even later than you already are."

He wiped the tears off of his face, and walked into the classroom after us. I sat down in my seat (next to Lily!), and massaged my left cheek. I didn't pay attention to an ounce of the lesson, and before I knew it, the Professor called Peter, Snivelly Boy, Sirius, and me up to her desk as she dismissed the rest of the class. Remus looked as though he was going to wait for us, but McGonagall told him to leave.

"Now, boys, I am extremely disappointed in your behavior before class today. My best hope is that it is to never happen again, and that you will be furthermore _on time_. So, I will be giving all four of you detention. You will assist Madame Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing in anything she wants you to do. Be up there at 8:00. No magic will be allowed. I shall see you all later," she added, with a note of disappointment.

So, at 8:00 that night, Sirius, Peter and I dashed over to the Hospital Wing to serve with the crybaby. He was already there, scrubbing out a bedpan. Madame Pomfrey welcomed us sternly gave the usual 'next-time-think-before-you-act' speech, and set us to work on mopping the floor.

Just to annoy Snape, I started out mopping right by where Snape was working. It was far away from where Madame Pomfrey was stationed, so I would have no trouble talking to him.

"How ya doin', Snivel Boy? Not about to have another cry, are we?" I asked with a smirk.

"Shut up and go away, Potter. The air is getting too thick to breathe with your over-inflated ego around."

"Now _that _wasn't nice, Snivelly. I suggest that it's you that needs the humbling. I can do just fine on my own."

He gave me a dirty look. "Stop calling me that, _Potter_," he spat.

I smiled evilly. "You don't like, it, do you?"

"That would be obvious, _Potter_. Now shut up before I curse you so you'll never show your face in public again."

"Oooh, a threat. Bring it on, Snivelly. I don't fear you."

Snape said nothing. A long silence ensued, so I thought. I looked around the room, seeing Sirius mopping by the door, and Peter putting clean sheets on the beds. He'd done his mopping fast! Then I looked to Snivel Boy again. He was working hard as ever, with a look of disgust upon his face. It would be incredibly funny to watch him cry again. If only I had a person spell to make his sniveling last… and he was already unpopular as it was. Eventually, I spoke my mind.

"You know, You should really cry more often, give me a good laugh. _Snivellus _I dub you. It sounds sorta like a spell. I wish I knew _how _to make my own spells, though. Then I could actually make it do what I wanna make it do."

He looked up, seeming very annoyed and at the end of his patience. "And just _what _would you make the spell do, Potter?!"

"It'd make you cry all the time, what else? After all, you are the Crybaby Extraordinaire, age thirteen."

"Just shut up, Potter, and go away," he spat. I shrugged, and finally moved on to a different location in the Wing that hadn't been done yet. Sirius was only a couple beds away, as well as Madame Pomfrey. I would have to whisper.

"Hey Sirius…" I whispered, leaning in his direction. His head shot up with a look of questioning.

"What?"

"Just had a chat with ole Snivelly over there," I said, jerking my head to where he sat working. "Got a new nickname for him. I've decided to start calling him _Snivellus_, so that the whole world can know what a crybaby he is."

Sirius tried to suppress a laugh. "Well make sure that everyone at Hogwarts will know his name… in not such a pleasant way. I'm in. You want me to go tell Pete over there?"

I nodded, and he crossed over to where Peter stood, working on the bedsheets. A couple seconds later, and I knew that he was in, too. After detention, I'd alert Remus. The next morning, everyone would be addressing him with that cruel, but incredibly funny name: _Snivellus_.

* * *

Lily's hatred towards me grew even more in this period of time, as she saw all the teenage (and the numerous pre-teen) girls swooning all over me. She hated the way I'd take everything with a mysteriously coy smile, and relax on every issue. _She_, on the other hand, worked extremely hard for her keep. She studied into the wee hours of the morning, always kept her room-space clean and tidy, and hardly did any partying at all. I was always goofing of, somehow passing my classes partying all night and socializing. My room-space was the greatest pigsty you'd ever see, and all the teachers _admired _me, for some odd reason. Lily hated my popularity, she hated my jokes, she hated my sloppy style, and couldn't stand being close to me. The only thing that I did that she took on was the name-calling (Snivellus) of Snape, because she hated him nearly as much as I did. And he hated her, so all was mutual.

Lily would spend every moment that she could away from my company. Too bad. She had her classes sitting right next to me, and always would. The professors knew that she hated me, so they insisted that we work together a lot to build up a friendship. When will they ever learn that that technique has not, will not, and will _never _work on Miss Lily Evans?

The next years sailed by quickly. In the blink of an eye, I was in the end of my fifth year, taking my OWLS. Of course, everyone was spending hour upon hour of studying every single day, but I'd spent not as much as an hour in the whole of it all for it. I breezed by everything, and I'd breeze by my OWLS. I knew the spells, I knew the history (surprisingly, for I fell asleep in every single one of Binns' classes), I knew my potions, and don't even get me _started _on Defense Against the Dark Arts. You're talking to the master of it, right now!! I ace that class. I swear, the teacher, Professor Camlye, is in _love _with me. She praises every single one of my essays, swoons over my ability in dueling, and even _marvels _at me when I read a chapter from the book aloud in class. What can I say? Being good at this class runs in the family. I won't be surprised if my kids are the top in that class, it'll be expected.

What bugged me, though, was that even though I sat next to Lily in Charms and made classes a living hell for her, she was still so _good _at the subject. Well, I guess that was because she had learned to rename my voice as an annoying little gnat, and managed to drown out the sounds into nothingness. Lucky. I wish that _I _could be able to do that with _some _people… namely Lucius Malfoy, the scumhead. He was always hissing in my ear, every day… and I would jinx him for it, though not as often as Snivelly. He hardly said anything at all, unless he was in a battle of words with me, myself, and I.

My bouts with Snivellus continued through the years, and now Sirius and I were more than happy to jinx him when we so much as _saw _him in the corridors, his greasy nose shoved in an evil-looking book.

OWLS did go by easily… 'Outstanding' in DADA and the like… and it was no surprise to me that Lily made more 'Outstanding' marks than I did. My time was so enjoyably consumed by continuing my reign with Sirius, Remus, and Peter (or, Padfoot, Moony, and Wormtail). Lily spent all of her time studying. Now there's one thing I will never understand… the four girls sit by the fire, giggling away, and then Lily announces that she's going to go study. If one has free time, why study?!

I still really like her. I've even asked her out a few times, but she keeps rejecting me. Maybe she doesn't like me… that would be kind of odd, of course, because everywhere I go I have a little pack of girls dogging me. Well, Sirius even more than me… but hey, we're both _very_ attractive, if I be so bold.

There was one occasion where it seemed like she really hated me… after our Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL, by the side of the lake… Sirius and I were torturing Snape, and she said to me, "You think you're funny, but you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him _alone_."

Smartly, I replied: "I will if you go out with me, Evans. Go on… go out with me, and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."

Bad move. She looked cruelly at me like I was a child molester or something.

"I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid."

The conversation went on, but only this part mad me truly frustrated:

Snivelly had just called her a …_Mudblood_… and I had told the scumbag to apologize to her. Then, Lily told me I was just as bad as he was, but I'd _never_ call her that.

So, she glared at me with those gorgeous emerald eyes of hers and said, "Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you've just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can – I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK."

She left. I truly thought she'd never speak to me again.

But, she would have to. We were still assigned many projects together, and I actually went along with them without pestering her so much. Gosh, if _I_ had been called the Mudblood… I would've… I dunno. Probably bury Snivellus alive, and then bring him back from the dead so I could kill him again. I don't know how Lily could stand it.

Well, fifth year came and went. My curiosities about Ms. Evans continued, and so did my crush. I couldn't help but like her. I've seen that glint in her eyes. When I look over at her, and she's always looking back at me… and then she quickly looks away and becomes unusually absorbed in her studies…

It all just makes me sigh and wonder. What if we get married someday? Our kids would be pretty crazy. (A/N: Ha ha) They'd have my clever wit, and Lily's smarts… and her stubbornness, too.

And… Lily would finally love me. But how do you woo a girl like Evans? It seemed impossible. I'd tried nearly everything I could think of. It was only in the beginning of my seventh year did I finally get a clue of what I could do.

Sirius, Remus, and I were hanging out in our dormitory the first Saturday into the school year. Remus was charming a quill to write out messages on the ceiling, while Sirius was talking to me about Gwen.

Gwen this, Gwen that... honestly, you'd get tired of it after awhile. They started dating the beginning of sixth year, and have been inseparable ever since. Remus and Kat definitely had crushes on each other, but they wouldn't admit it, and also Celeste had a boyfriend in Ravenclaw. Poor Peter had no one… just like me.

So back to Sirius. I was listening to him drone on about how beautiful Gwen was, and how she came over to see him for a week in the summer break. Of course, I already knew this. Sirius was staying at my house.

I sighed, my mind still on Lily. "What does she want, Sirius?"

"..and then she said that—what? What'd you say?" Sirius replied, looking at me now with a confused expression.

I didn't say anything for a moment. I just kinda stared into space for a little while. "What kind of a guy does Lily want?"

Sirius just laughed and grinned. "Well, whatever she wants, it's something that's not you, mate."

I rolled my eyes. I still hadn't figured it out. Was she waiting for Prince Charming, or something like that? Well, I have news for her. 'Prince Charmings' don't exist, and… I'm about as close as you come to one. Honestly, if she were like every other girl, she'd be bowing at my feet. What makes her so defiant?

"Nothing hurts more than rejection from the girl of your dreams. Luckily, this scenario has not happened to…"

"oh, shut it, Padfoot, would you?" I said a bit angrily.

Sirius's hands shot up in the air innocently. "Sorry, Prongs."

I turned over so I faced away from him. "Forget it."

* * *

Those six years… had gone terribly wrong. It was because of my thick head that she couldn't stand me. I was wrong; I wasn't even close to being a Prince Charming for her. How could I repair the damage done, heal those cuts when they'd had so long to sink in?

I would need at least one day to go right… to make up for all of those gone awry.

* * *

How'd you like it? I wrote it all over a span of Feb. 1, 2006 to May 3, 2007. Now it is up and done! Hoorah!

Pleeeeaaase review, I live off of reviews. They are like my food source for writing.

Till my next update,

Sir Fuzzalot.


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